The present invention relates generally to apparatus for grasping records.
With the increasing use of stereophonic and other recorded media equipment, persons have an increasing awareness of the care and preservation of the recorded medium in the form of delicate phonograph records. Removing a record from its sleeve and jacket or from a turntable by hand without contaminating its delicate surface is an almost impossible task. The fingers carry body acids, liquids, fats, microorganisms, and other pollutants which contaminate the grooves of records they come in contact with. Additionally, the fingernails are often times the source of physical damage and scratches to the records.
Previous apparatus known in the art suffered severe limitations in extracting records from their jackets or removing records from a turntable. Further, the grasping members of previous apparatus were ultrasonically interconnected which was expensive and resulted in apparatus having nonuniform spacing among the product line. Therefore, previous apparatus present serious limitations and deficiencies in the care and preservation of delicate phonograph records.